With almost 700,000 hectares of outstanding beauty, this spectacular national park contains Australia's five highest alps, glacial lakes, limestone caves, grasslands and woodlands. The park is recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and contains plants not found anywhere else on the Earth. The winter skiing is some of the country’s best, and you can explore this vast wonderland year-round.

It is an engineering marvel, the world's steepest steam-operated railway. This is Tasmania's West Coast Wilderness Railway, and it is 28 tonnes of special. Today, passengers are moved by the same locomotives that began the run from Queenstown back in 1896. They take a comfortable 16-kilometre run through the wildlands, uphill through spectacular landscapes and down to a place called Dubbill Barrill, with stops for a little gold panning and sightseeing. These locos were originally built to move copper ore for the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, delivering the mine's deep riches out of a massive, landlocked deposit at Queenstown to the port of Strahan, and from there, to the world. And every passenger is greeted by one of the line's original workhorses, a 28-tonne steam locomotive that's ready to roll — and guaranteed to raise a smile.

With its towers, buttresses and sturdy walls, the 16th-century Cathedral was built to serve as a place of worship and defence against the pirate raids from North Africa. The cathedral's Gothic interior comprises three naves and three chapels. Daily guided tours offer visitors the opportunity to explore the entire cathedral.